Something Beautiful
by nxlee
Summary: AU. Hate-turned-love. High school settings. It's the clichéd story of two rather perpendicular worlds clashing: charismatic, gorgeous Sasuke meeting fiery, defiant Sakura.
1. Chapter 1

_"Maybe I'm too jaded to love somebody like you. Maybe I want to love my dream that will never come true. Someone who is real, gets in the way, and moves inside my heart not just my head."_

**- A Bird Flies Out, the Weepies**

* * *

Haruno Sakura thought that she would never had to step into this place ever again.

She ignored the gawked stares and hushed whispers as she passed them. She knew where those fingers were pointing at and who was going to be a hot topic for the gossip grapevine of Konohagakure High. But that didn't matter to her. Not anymore.

Sakura let out a quiet groan when she saw the long queue of students leading up to the front administration desk. She made her way towards the line before she was blocked by a large, stocky figure.

Sakura looked up. It seemed that Masuhiro had not changed since she last saw him; although his face looked more flushed now with all the acne covering it. But it was still a face that she didn't want to see again.

"Haruno?" he said, blatantly roaming his eyes over her body. "Holy shit. Is it really you?"

"No," she replied, eyeing the moving queue over his left shoulder.

She tried to move past him, but Masuhiro continued to block her.

"Is there a problem?" She asked, her brow furrowing as his grin widened.

This was not good. If the idiot kept this up than Sakura was definite that she'd end up in the principal's office before homeroom started.

He shrugged. "I just wanted to welcome a new face," he said, as he stared a bit too long at her chest.

"It was nice to meet you too," Sakura uttered, placing a hand on his arm and gently shoved him aside. "Now if you excuse me, I got to be somewhere."

She only made a few steps away from him when she felt him grip her wrist, reeling her back to him.

"Leaving so soon?" he gave a pout. "I was just getting to know you."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "All you need to know is that if you don't let go in the next five seconds, I will kick your ass."

Masuhiro laughed. "Oh, I wouldn't count on a dainty little thing like you to-"

Sakura grabbed his arm and threw him onto the floor. He landed on his stomach and his arms pulled back behind him. He could see the small group of students forming around them.

"You were saying?" Sakura said, in a syrupy sweet tone.

"Get off me!" he demanded, as he thrashed about. But the hand on his neck paralyzed him in his place.

A teacher pushed their way through the crowd. "What is the meaning of this?" she said, narrowing her eyes at Sakura and Masuhiro. "You let go of that boy this instant!"

When Masuhiro finally felt her grip loosen, he immediately stumbled back up and charged towards Sakura, only to be stopped by a several arms pushing him back.

Meanwhile, Sakura was making her way towards the front desk when the same teacher stepped in front of her.

"I think you need to go to the principal's office, young lady," she snapped, pointing to the door that was adjacent to the right side of the desk.

Sakura smirked. "I think you're right," she said, allowing the teacher to march her into the office.

* * *

Sakura wasn't surprised at the sir she caused with her classmates – the shock and disgust were clearly written on their faces when she entered her home room. After the heat of everyone's stares and whispers following her like a constant swarm of flies, Sakura was relieved that they decided to instead to ignore her as if she was a walking plague.

Aside from Sarutobi, the only other people who did speak to her were Kakashi-sensei (who arrived within minutes before her) and her new seatmate, Hyuuga Hinata – a quiet pale-eyed girl who Sakura only had the vague memory of being Neji's cousin. Hinata gave a smile and whispered hello before blushing and returning back to her work.

Everyone else settled with twittering and whispering about her wherever she went. It was evident that no one had forgotten who she was, and with the escalation of rumours surrounding her past and now only proved it. It was high school, why shouldn't she expect there'd be rumours about her?

So far, they had ranged from her surviving a failed suicide attempt, hiding away in a juvenile center or boarding school. Others said she was a teenage mother, a prostitute, a drug addict or all of them combined. Sakura had to give them credit for their creativity, but she knew that this was already wrecking her plans to lay low. Especially not after her run-in with Masuhiro, this only helped fan the flames surrounding her reputation.

However, there was something else, something much bigger that occupied the students of Konoha High.

Sakura never expected in her lifetime to discover something to this scale happening, especially to their small, crummy school. It wasn't until the beginning-of-year school assembly did all the bizarre things she'd seen clicked into place.

Personally Sakura had bigger things to worry about. There were always transferees, what made this one any different?

_Oh right, I forgot, _Sakura thought_. The famous _**Uchiha Sasuke**_ is coming to this school._

Beside everyone incessantly talking about it; there was the constant hoard of screaming fans and paparazzi staking out the school. Sakura was sure most of them were still on the campus, even after Sarutobi-sama had called security and the police to drive them all off.

She was sure she wasn't the only one getting sick to death of the flashing cameras, buzzing noises and screeching of "Sasuke-kun".

Sakura wasn't surprised that half the student body were willingly bribed as spies, judging by the smut boasts of instant riches from her classmates who snuck between classes to meet with tabloid reporters alike.

Unfortunately for them, their precious Uchiha Sasuke never showed up. Instead his agent appeared and explained that Sasuke still had jet lag from the promotional tour of his latest film, and wanted some rest before starting the school year. Sakura was frankly disgusted at how eagerly everyone ate it up, but still found their disappointment amusing to watch.

The only good thing that came out of this was that everyone was so obsessed with Sasuke coming, that they seemed to completely forget about her – which was more than what she wanted.

* * *

As the lunch bell was ringing, Sakura followed the sea of students slowly exiting the classroom and headed straight to her locker.

"Hey."

Sakura turned around, only to find Shinobu standing in front of her. She awkwardly fidgeted with the hem of her skirt and light purple hair, glancing every few seconds at Sakura before returning her gaze towards her feet.

Sakura glanced at her sister from the corner of her eyes, as she concentrated on her combination lock. "What do you want?"

"You got any spare cash? I need to buy some lunch," she said, quickly looking down at her feet.

"Why don't you just ask _him_ for money?" Sakura replied, as she opened her locker. She felt a slight guilt when her sister stiffened at the mention of their stepfather.

_Well it serves her right_, Sakura thought.

"Why… W-Why are you acting like this?" Shinobu demanded. "What did I ever do to you?"

"Oh, like you're one to talk," Sakura snapped, grabbing her lunch and sketchbook. "I thought you don't _have_ a sister to take money off from."

Her sister flinched. "Never mind then," she muttered, spinning around and was about to stomp when she was stopped by a group of students; whom Sakura assumed were her freshmen classmates.

"Hey Shinobu, what are you doing?" one of them asked, sniggering as they spotted Sakura nearby. "Were you actually talking to her?"

"Yeah, I thought you said Sakura wasn't _your_ sister," another piped.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, closing her locker. "What's it to you?" she said, as she sauntered towards the group.

A girl with pigtails briefly glanced at Sakura before she focused her attention onto Shinobu, clearly enjoying watching her squirm.

"What are _you_ going to do about it?" she sneered; looking straight at Sakura. "Kill me too?"

Shinobu and several other students nearby flinched. There was a sudden wave of hushed whispers, and a small crowd was starting to form around them.

Sakura merely rolled her eyes, folding her arms as she hovered over the freshman, who quickly lost her bravado, face flushing as she slowly backed away.

"I wouldn't put it past her."

Everyone turned their heads towards the owner of the voice. Standing only a meter from them was Otsuka Ami. Sakura felt sick to her stomach; blind rage coiling inside of her – ready to completely snap and rip out Ami's throat.

It looked like she hadn't changed that much either through the years. Her dark purple hair was still retained in the asymmetrical faction. The only main difference was that she had grown a few inches and had developed a voluptuous figure since their freshman year.

Sakura immediately stood defensively in front of her sister. Ami glanced towards her lackey who merely mirrored their friend's smirk – waiting for Sakura's response.

"What are you doing?" Shinobu asked, growing anxious as she watched the stare-off between her sister and Ami.

Sakura didn't turn around; only making a slight turn of her head as she glanced at Shinobu.

"Go," she said, gesturing towards the exit to their left. However, her sibling stood there, gawking as she felt the buildup of tears threatening to spill over.

Ami folded her arms, looking at Sakura expectantly. "Well, well, well – I certainly hadn't expected _you _to come back."

"What's the matter, Ami?" Sakura taunted, smirking as she made slight tilt of her head. "Did daddy not have enough _money_ to completely get rid of me?"

Ami flinched. "Yeah well, at least I'm not a _whore,_" she said, her voice growing increasingly louder as more people surrounded them.

"Although maybe it's something that runs in the family," Ami continued, "how's your mother, by the way? Is she still a brain-dead _whore_ up in that loony bin she's at?"

Everything went silent. All eyes trained on either Sakura or Ami, who wore a triumphant grin.

Sakura sauntered towards Ami, who was leaning backwards to her group – looking at her friends and expecting them to come to her defense. They were firmly rooted to the ground; all wearing the same panicked expression on their faces.

"You forgot complete psychopath as well," Sakura said quietly. "But you know what? Maybe I should prove the rumours, after all. And I'll start it by first dealing with _you, _Ami._"_

Ami immediately brought a hand up to slap Sakura. However, she found that Sakura caught her wrist midway; yelping as Sakura merely pushed it away.

Before Ami could retaliate, Sakura punched her straight in the face.

The purple-haired girl stumbled backwards, crashing onto several students, who helped her back up.

"What the fuck was that for, you psycho bitch!" Ami cried.

Several students made steps forward to help her, only drawing back when they saw the murderous look in Sakura's eyes.

Sakura fixed her deadpan stare on Ami. "Don't think you can fuck with me again," she hissed.

Looking behind her, something seemed to change in the expression on Sakura's face. She turned her attention back to the crowd; squashing the nagging wave of guilt that resurfaced when she saw Shinobu's tearful face, staring at her as if her sister had turned into a giant bug.

This wasn't the Sakura she wanted her baby sister to see, but the girl wasn't an idiot. She knew that things had changed and there was no going back now.

An awkward, tense silence passed throughout the hallway, as the faces of the crowd and flashes of phones groped in front of her – awaited for her response.

"I don't care what you dickheads say about me, but if anyone tries to hurt my sister," Sakura declared, turning to the group of freshman from before, who back away when they realized they glared at her sister.

"Well," she said, chuckling as her gaze stopped at a particular spot in the crowd. "Be sure as hell that I will find out. And I will _break_ every bone in your body for it."

Shinobu snapped out of her thoughts when Sakura grabbed her arm.

"Here," Sakura muttered, shoving a handful of coins into her hand.

"Thank you Sakura-" Shinobu said, surprised when she was already gone.

* * *

"Sakura!"

The pink haired girl ignored the cries, pacing even faster down the corridor. But the voices seem to only get louder, as if they were growing closer to her.

Sakura turned back, armed with a tornado of insults and ready to make those idiots leave her be – when she felt as if time had stopped. It was_ them_.

Her heart thumped as she stared. Next to Hinata was Tenten, with her hair still in its trademark buns; and Shikamaru, who still had that haircut that made him resemble a pineapple. Then her gaze moved across and felt her heart lodged itself in her throat.

Ino-pig looked like she was on the verge of tears, her upper lip trembled as she raised her hand and waved. Naruto looked right at her, his eyes showing all of his emotions at once. What frightened her most was that he looked _relieved_, as if they were only meeting up after spending most of their lunch on a wild goose chase looking for her. As if she had never left.

Sakura felt as if someone had grabbed a hold of her heart and was squeezing it as hard as possible. Some part of her urged to just go to them, and pretend that nothing had ever happened and they were reunited altogether at last. But she remembered that she had a plan to follow. A plan that would no longer included any of them.

When they were only steps away from her, Sakura bolted again – quickly becoming far too ahead for them to catch up. Naruto was the only one sprinting down the hallway after her.

* * *

Sakura hummed to herself, as she enjoyed the peaceful of the relatively empty classroom; even although there were a handful of other students too transfixed on their homework to notice her.

It didn't take long before she realized that she had absently been drawing most of her old friends. She giggled at the cartoonish pig version of Ino. Some things never did change, even if everything else did.

She remembered the looks _they _gave her. Sakura didn't need them to be condescending and feel sorry for her. Why should they care? She remembered how they looked, sitting in the cafeteria laughing and chatting like they had clearly moved on. It was exactly like she thought it'd be.

But was it really what she wanted? Sakura couldn't explain why it hurt that they looked so happy without her? Did she really mean nothing to those people, after all those years they known each other?

Well, except Naruto. Sakura still felt conflicted emotions over that blonde idiot. It was clear that he and the pig were going to make the plan much harder than anticipated.

_Sakura walked towards an empty classroom, so sure that she had lost them when someone grabbed onto her elbow from behind._

"Sakura," Naruto panted.

_She stiffened, turning to aim a punch for him too. However, before Sakura was able to land her fist in his face, Naruto had immediately engulfed her in a tight hug._

_ Her body went rigid, and she tried to pry herself off him – but it only encouraged him to wrap his arms around her much tighter, making it almost impossible to break out of his vice grip._

"I missed you so much, Sakura-chan," he whispered into her hair, desperation and relief mingling in his low voice.

_Sakura's body betrayed her thoughts, letting him murmur her name and sorry into her hair over and over again._

Sakura grew more frustrated the more she thought about it. She wondered why she was letting herself get so worked up over something so stupid. It only meant that she had to work harder on avoiding everyone – especially Naruto.

Someone taking a peek inside the room before they closed the door.

There was a muffling sound that grew louder from outside. Sakura glanced at the door, wondering what the hell that was making that much noise.

It wasn't long before Sakura packed up to leave. When she opened the door, someone bumped straight into her.

Sakura eyed the blonde boy in the grey hoodie and dark jeans, who had grabbed her arms to prevent her from falling backwards.

"Excuse me," she said, shrugging his hands off and then pushed past him.

They stranger froze as they ogled Sakura from behind their dark sunglasses. Sakura figured that it was her pink hair that threw them off guard. Most people had a similar reaction.

However, her hair triggered something different. It was all too surreal to be real. He hadn't expected to see her, not yet anyway.

_It's actually her._

A small wave of emotions surfaced inside of him, but he quickly repressed it as he looked at her. She had certainly grown up; exceptionally from the last time he saw her.

"Do you..."

Sakura stared at the guy as if he was some wild animal, unsure whether to approach or avoid at all cost. It was also clear that she wasn't in the mood to have her patience tried.

"Do you," he cleared his throat. "Do you know where the administration office is?"

She pointed to her right. "Turn around, and it's the last door to your left."

The boy nodded stiffly, muttering his thanks before shutting the door behind them and walking in the opposite direction. Sakura sighed in relief, hoping that they would never meet again.

* * *

Sarutobi was reading the newspaper when he heard the door open and a hooded blonde boy walked in.

"Can I help you?"

Sarutobi raised his eyebrows as the stranger sat down in front of him. Before he could speak, the hood, wig and sunglasses were pulled off- revealing the stranger's blue-black spiked hair, dark eyes and bemused expression.

The principal hid his surprise and only smiled, outstretching his hand towards them as a friendly gesture.

"Uchiha Sasuke, may I say, welcome to Konohagakure High."

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Guess who's back, you guys! Holy guacamole, man, how many _**years**_ has it been now since I last did anything on this site? It feels like it was a whole lifetime since I was last on here. Do people still remember I exist? I don't blame them if no one does. Hell, even I wouldn't remember me.

I guess that a main reason why I'm uploading this story now, even when it is far from finished is because this poor project would have never seen the light of day if it were otherwise and I continued to go at my current pace of procrastination. But nonetheless, I hope this story as much as I have been writing and dreaming about it.

Please note that this has been largely self-edited at this point, so if anyone wants to beta this story or just offer constructive criticism, then please feel more than welcome to do so, either through areview or PM.


	2. Chapter 2

Uchiha Sasuke kept his head down as he pushed his way through the bustling mob. With his hands shoved in his pockets, Sasuke's current objective was to enter the school in one piece; ignoring the camera flashes, questions and fans screaming coming at him every from possible angle.

He touched his ears every so often, checking that his eardrums hadn't bled yet from the rampaging of the crowd around him.

It was all troublesome, really.

The double doors were only a step away, and once he was inside – Sasuke could claim some form of immunity and the sooner Sarutobi got those annoying people away from him, the better.

_Father_, Sasuke murmured to himself, as he pushed the doors open, _I will not disappoint you_.

Unfortunately the crowd still followed him inside – one even daring to try to manhandle him for an interview. Sasuke glared as he grabbed the culprit by the cuff of his shirt and shoved him – walking on when he heard the perpetrator stumbling into a group of students.

He stopped mid-step and turned, his face barely concealing his annoyance.

"If any one tries a stunt like that ever again," Sasuke said, his voice low and menacing, "and I'll make sure that it won't be just your careers that's ruined, understood?"

They instantly backed away, flabbergasted. But they still continued to follow him; their persistence to get him overrode their common knowledge of Sasuke's temper.

As he walked through the school hallway, Sasuke knew that all eyes were trained on him. They stood in awe once they saw him, gapping and wide-eyed like a goldfish. He supposed it wasn't their fault, that it was a one in a million chance that they'd be breathing and standing in the same building as him – Japan's most notorious teen heartthrob at the moment.

It was inevitable that his name would be the only thing talked about in this small little school, and if it were like the last schools he went to – it was going to be another hellhole and he'd never be left alone. But he remembered why he was even in this pathetic little place – and Sasuke ventured on.

Scrounging for the timetable tucked in his blazer, Sasuke took a quick glance at it – strategically angling it so that they wouldn't get a quick glance at it, or else his classes would be leaked all over the internet before homeroom started.

The only things Sasuke had on him were a small notebook and some pens. He still hadn't even changed into his slip-on shoes, a trivia that irritated him. He'd planned to get to his locker later (hoping to exploit his status with the teachers) when the hallway was emptier so there were less chances of people knowing where his locker was and snooping around to pry into his stuff.

But a flash of pink caught his eye, and Sasuke's immediate thoughts were to find out where it was going. Turning his head, he saw someone heading towards him.

_Is it her?_ He thought, eying her as he quickened his pace, trying to catch up to them.

Sasuke didn't understand why he was eager to meet her. From yesterday's meeting, she didn't even seem to recognize him. To be fair, he had been in disguise so maybe, with him exposed as it were – she could possibly remember him. It didn't matter in the greater scheme of things, but there was some irrational desire to just see her.

As he got closer, it was indeed Sakura who was in front of him. Even with her oversized beanie obscuring most of her features, the glimpses of pink hair were still a definite giveaway.

Sakura looked up, and for a single moment – their eyes met. There was nothing unusual about her, hair colour excluded – but the way her green eyes had locked onto him had him momentarily mesmerized. That strange feeling seized him again, and Sasuke darted his gaze around – fiddling through his pockets for a cigarette or his phone, anything to distract himself and the crowd behind him.

Because the last thing he ever wanted was for them to find some reason to link him and Sakura together, especially when there was too much at risk already.

Meanwhile, Sakura pursed her lips, her brow furrowed as she tried to maneuver through the crowd he had formed. To no avail, it was too dense to squeeze by, even when she seemed to make students instantly part like a pariah of some sorts. She was not the only one – evident by the queue of people behind her. However, unlike her – they seemed to stop dead in their tracks once they saw Sasuke.

Others instantly rushed up to him, demanding autographs and screaming his name for just for some acknowledgement. However, Sasuke's attention was on Sakura, however inconspicuous it was.

The crowd was clotting up the hallway, threatening to hold up the entire corridor at the rate it was growing. Even Sasuke was becoming more irritated with how little room everyone was giving him.

"I would like some space, if you would be so kind," he said, waving his arm.

Several girls lunged forward, clinging onto his arm even when he showed his annoyance. Regardless, Sasuke bustled towards Sakura's direction,

"After you," he said, gesturing his hand to the path before them.

"Thanks," she said, nodding at him before walking off.

Everyone were still taking pictures of him (and others were pushing each other to seize a moment next to their idol) and were uploading them online, still nagging him further as Sasuke seemed to ignore them all, his gaze kept on Sakura's retreating figure.

_Hn, _Sasuke gave a quick smirk, _this will definitely be an interesting year._

* * *

It was third period History, and everyone was handing their test papers to their teacher, Sarutobi Asuma, the only teacher in the school who smoked and got away with it.

Hyuuga Hinata fidgeted in her seat, twiddling her thumbs as she mentally ran through the answers again - trying to figure out if she had written any wrong answers or worst, left out a question altogether.

"Hey."

The dark-haired girl turned when she felt a hand on her shoulder, letting out a small squeak when she was met with Sakura's stare, who had paused from her doodling in her sketchbook.

"Y-Yes, H-Haruno-san?" Hinata said, feeling her cheeks burn.

Sakura pulled her hand away. "Hey, just relax, it's only a pop quiz," Sakura replied, smirking as she twirling her pencil with her hand. "Besides, It probably won't even go into your final grade."

"A-Ah... y-you're right," her seatmate said, giving a small smile before reaching for her school diary, trying to pretend to look busy.

"You know, Hinata," said person looked up to Sakura, "it's okay for you to call me Sakura. No need to be formal with me and such."

"Oh. A-Are you sure?" Hinata said, "I-I mean, that isn't weird or anything...?"

Sakura shrugged. "I don't really care. Besides, I'd probably respond better to my actual name, than the usual 'filthy, murdering slut' I normally get."

Hinata nodded, pursing her lips before she took another peak at Sakura - who had returned to her sketching. There hadn't been a moment since her arrival that Hinata had not seen her new seat mate without a pencil in her hand, drawing away as she ignored the rest of their class that treated her as if she were a plague.

"Y-You know... if it makes you feel b-better..." Hinata smiled at the numerous messages from Ino and Tenten scrawled across her diary, "I-I think you're still a good person."

"Thanks, Hinata," Sakura said, letting out a chuckle. "I guess you're still too nice for your own good, just like always."

Hinata let out a nervous laugh. "Y-Yeah, I guess so..."

"Which is a lot more I can say than for your cousin," Sakura continued, "who, even after all of this time - clearly acts like he still has that pole jammed up his ass."

Sakura was slightly taken back when Hinata started giggling, allowing herself to laugh with her, pretending that they were just two friends laughing at something incredibly stupid, yet hilarious.

"That's funny, Sakura-san," Hinata said, failing to stifle her giggles, "because that's what Ino and Tenten says about nii-san all the time too."

There was a sudden sweep of awkward silence once Hinata had realized what she said, immediately noticing that Sakura had stiffened in her seat, her lips thinned and gripping the pencil tightly in her fist.

Hinata cursed herself for being such an insensitive idiot and blurting something like that. She knew the story behind Sakura's past and that she had a falling out with the others. But Hinata definitely knew that she had no business or right to talk so openly about her friends like that, given that they were Sakura's first.

"I-I'm so sorry! I d-didn't mean to... I'm so sorry, Sakura-san," Hinata said, looking down at her lap and began fiddling with her hair to mask her face.

The pink-haired girl gave no response, instead turning back to her drawings. They continued to avoid looking at each other for the rest of the lesson - each one burying their nose into their own work once Asuma resumed to teaching the class again.

Hinata still felt the horrible lump at the pit of her stomach, guilty overwhelming her as her words kept running through her mind repeatedly, imagining just how much Sakura probably hated her right now.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door, which garnered everyone's attention.

"Come in!" Asuma said as he continued to write on the whiteboard.

The door creaked as Sasuke walked in, a nonchalant expression on his face as he ignored the gasps and hushed whispers of his classmates.

"Ah, so you're our new student," Asuma said, waving dismissively towards Sasuke's direction, "I'd love to give you an orientation, but you interrupted our lesson - which I cannot afford to drag out. So just take any seat for now, and we'll discuss your lesson plan later."

All eyes were trained on Sasuke, except for Sakura - who gave him a brief look before returning to take notes. Hinata mimicked her seatmate's example, but was not immune to glancing up every few seconds and ogle Sasuke in curiousity.

It became a game of suspense, as people were wildly flapping their arms and directing Sasuke to sit with them. But to their surprise, Sasuke walked towards the empty seat next to Hinata.

"Excuse me," he said, clearing his throat as Hinata looked up at him, mildly startled. "Do you mind...?"

"H-Here? Oh, of c-c-course n-not!" Hinata said, squeaking when she felt Sakura's elbow nudge into her side.

She turned toward the pink-haired girl, wondering what was her problem when Sakura began nodding her head towards Sasuke - who had already sat down and began organizing his things out.

Hinata looked on in confusion as Sakura was mouthing words to her, but she couldn't understand what she was trying to say. Sakura shook her head, hastily writing something in her book before sliding it towards Hinata.

**Why are you letting that Sasuke guy sit next to you?!**

Hinata looked up at Asuma, who was still talking and writing on the board before she quickly wrote a response.

**I'm sorry! I panicked and didn't know I was supposed to say no?**

Sakura scanned over the message, jerking her head towards their classmates behind them - who were staring jealously. Hinata slumped in her seat, knowing that Sakura warned her that they would probably face the wrath of Sasuke's fan girls and everyone else later.

It wasn't long before Hinata felt someone poke her back. She turned, her brow furrowed as a boy handed her a piece of folded paper.

**Hey Hinata - try to get Sasuke's number for me? I'll pay you!**

She looked around, spotting a girl near the far left side of the room waving at her - then pointing at Sasuke's back. Hinata slowly turned towards the Uchiha, who was too busy writing down notes, wondering if she would be so bold to annoy him now. She didn't want to be the idiot to piss off both of her seatmates in the same day.

Asuma turned around, scanning across the room with a suspicious glance - which prompted Hinata to return back to taking notes. The class remained quiet until the bell rung, and there was a sudden

"That is all for today," Asuma said, as he packed away his things. "I expect that all of you will finish the assigned reading for tomorrow, or else. And Sasuke, please see me in my office during the lunch break."

Sasuke nodded, pulling out his phone as the teacher began heading out of the classroom.

"Here we go," Sakura muttered under her breath.

Before Hinata could ask further, the rest of the classmates immediately swarmed around Sasuke - all fighting each other for his attention and bombarding him with questions.

"Sasuke-kun, could I get an autograph?"

"Hey, do you think you could score me a part in your next movie?"

"Sasuke-kun, would you like to share lunch with me?"

"Sasuke-kun, it is an honour to meet you. I am, like your biggest fan!"

Sakura and Hinata only watched in mild terror as the questions kept coming, and how aggressive they were getting - even throwing themselves onto him. It was clear how visibly annoyed Sasuke was - even if he ignored them all by texting away on his phone.

He abruptly stood up from his seat, nudging a pair of girls away from him as he began taking his books with him. The class remained circled around him - all still talking simultaneously and grabbing onto him.

"Excuse me," he said, a little louder as they all suddenly fell silent. He glared at everyone before pushing his way through the crowd - immediately stalking out of the classroom with most of them in hot pursuit.

"I-I'm sorry, Sakura-san," Hinata said to Sakura, as they watched most of their classmates get shooed back into the room by a wondering teacher. "A-About before... and now this."

The pink-haired girl scowled, rolling her eyes at the incessant chatter about Sasuke surrounding them. "Well, I suppose it cannot get any worst than this."

* * *

"Hey, forehead!"

Sakura looked up, if only out of instinct and went rigid when Ino and Tenten had suddenly appeared right in front of her. She wanted to smack herself for being stupid - of course they'd be here, what visiting the best friend they replaced her with.

She tried to ignore them, slowly nibbling at her lunch while drawing in her book as the two newcomers stared at one another, glancing at Hinata who gave them helpless looks.

"Hey, Sakura, the rest of us are thinking of hanging out this weekend," Tenten said. "We were thinking, since you came back and all - it'd be a welcome back celebration and we could-"

"Sorry, I'm not interested," Sakura cut in, her focus still on her sketchbook.

Ino snorted, folding her arms. "Really, forehead - I thought you had better manners than this. At least _look _at us when you want to reject us."

Sakura looked up and narrowed her eyes at the blonde, who was giving her an equally intense glare. Both Tenten and Hinata looked at each other than back at their friends - wondering when they should intervene before it turned into a bloodbath.

"I'll do what I want," Sakura said, "I mean, what are you going to do - try to talk to me as if you _didn't _forget me while I was gone? Oh wait, that's exactly what you guys did."

"What the hell are you blabbering about?" Ino said, failing to lower her voice as onlookers listened. "We've been trying to get in contact with you for years! Your stepdad said that it was impossible to send anything to you, because you didn't want to have anything to do with us."

Sakura made a derisive snort. "Oh please. Why don't you just tell me the truth, instead of coming up with these bullshit excuses?" she said, practically snarling at Ino - who huffed and was still refusing to back down.

"Because it's the goddamn truth, that's why!" Ino said. "And maybe if you took your head out of your ass, you'd realize that-"

Sakura guffawed, standing up so she and Ino were eye to eye now. "Oh so now it's my fault?"

"Yes for not letting us explain why we weren't able to get in touch with you since you left!"

"Whatever, I don't have to put up with this shit," Sakura said, hastily grabbing her things before looking at Hinata, "tell the teachers that I might be late to next period. Enjoy _Sasuke-kun's_ precious company all to yourself before I get here."

Hinata froze, staring at Sakura helplessly. "S-Sakura-san, please... don't do this..."

But Sakura pushed past Tenten and was already racing towards the door.

"Sakura! Sakura get back here!" Ino yelled after her, running after Sakura out into the hallway before she lost the pink-haired girl completely.

Ino felt her lips quiver and water building up in her eyes - hastily reaching for her hankerchief and wiping away any sign of tears as she tried to gain her composure. But her shoulders slumped when she continued to stare at the empty corridor, Sakura's words ringing in her mind.

"Why do you keep running away from us?" she whispered to herself, cuddling herself as she headed back towards Tenten and Hinata, who simply hugged her and tried to distract her throughout the lunch period - which was what she felt they all needed.

* * *

Sakura closed the door behind her, leaning against it as she tried to catch her breath. She flung her things to the bench next to her, staring at her own shaky hands that, like the rest of her body, refused to cooperate and stay still.

She didn't understand why her confrontation with Ino left her like this, and why it was so much easier to slip back into her old self and let the mask fall with Naruto, but with Ino - it turned into a massive and long overdue catfight.

_Just like old times_, Sakura thought bitterly, clenching her fist as Ino's words kept running through her mind.

What the hell did the pig mean, when she said that her stepfather said it was impossible to reach her? Was this a trick question, figuring out who was the biggest liar?

There was one other way to find out if, on a slim chance, that Ino was telling the truth - but Sakura knew that she probably did not want to, nor was ready to make that discovery yet. It was easier to just push them away,

"Hey."

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts, tilting her head up. She immediately froze in place, cursing herself for being so stupid to run to the one other place she called sanctuary away from the rest of the school.

Unfortunately for her, it was the same place that a particular Uchiha Sasuke was also using to hide out.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she said, hands on her hips. "Shouldn't you be basking in the attention of your adoring fans?"

She wanted to laugh when she saw Sasuke cringed a little. He only grunted, rummaging through his pocket before pulling out a cigarette. Before he could flick his lighter on, Sakura snatched it out of his hands.

He scowled at her. "Give it back," he said, reaching for it but Sakura simply evaded his fast reflexes.

"Sorry, but it's against the rules," Sakura said, "you can't smoke on school campus, and especially not in this room."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, charging towards her with little patience for Sakura's sudden childlish acts. "And why is that?"

"Because unless you want to set fire to every flammable thing in here, including yourself - especially considering it's an arts room - I wouldn't recommend it."

"Ah," he said, gesturing to her for his lighter back.

Sakura threw it towards him, which he caught with ease. "Nice catch, Mr. Hotshot."

"It's Sasuke actually," he said, "Uchiha-"

"I know who you are," Sakura said, rolling her eyes. "It's kind of hard _not _to."

Sasuke gave a brief smirk. "I could say the same thing about you," he replied, pointing towards her hair.

"Ah, so you've heard the stories," Sakura said, walking over to get her lunch. She settled at the table in front of Sasuke, who watched idly as she began chowing down her food.

"Just bits and pieces," hemurmured, putting the cigarette back into box.

Sakura looked up from her lunch as Sasuke was looking through his messages on his phone.

"I'd be careful with that if I was you," she said, as Sasuke turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow, "you lose that and it will be probably be sold on the internet before the day is over."

He gave another grunt which Sakura rolled her eyes to. She supposed that even famous celebrities were not immune to the mystifying trait of teenage boys speaking in only grunts and and with as little words as possible.

"Thanks," he muttered, stealing a glance at her.

She shrugged, before eating her lunch and starting drawing again. For the rest of the remaining period - the two of them comfortable with the only noises made between them was Sasuke busily texting on his phone and the scratching of Sakura's pencil.

It wasn't much, but to Sasuke - considering the type of person he was, it was a start. A start to what, he wasn't sure he wanted to know just yet.

* * *

The classroom was cluttered with unfinished ceramic sculptures and painted canvases drying by the paneled window. The walls were plastered with sketches, paintings and school posters. Heat permeated from the kiln burning from the smaller room within, and its warmth was the first thing Sakura felt when she walked in.

She made a bee-line for the table in the further corner of the room, instantly taking out her small sketchbook and making doodles while she waited for the rest of the class.

"Ah, Haruno – early as always, yeah," a voice hollered from the smaller room.

Sakura smirked. "Of course, Diedara-sensei, I do actually make an effort for classes I actually like."

"Yeah, well – I'm glad to hear that, yeah," Diedara-sensei walked out with a large box, flicking his blonde ponytail away from his face as he carried it over to the sinks nearby the windows.

It didn't take long before the rest of the class came, taking their seats and continued chatting with their friends.

"Alright guys, stop talking over there. Are we ready for class now, yeah?" Diedara said, silencing the class as he closed the door behind him. "I'll leave the painting up here near my desk for reference, but we all have a general idea of what we're doing, yeah?"

The classes nodded, before the noise returned with the class bustling and scarpering around the room for their things.

Several minutes later, the door creaked as the latecomer walked into the room. Everyone gave brief glances at him before returning back to their work. A brown haired girl waved, pointing to her table which was already full with her other friends.

"Sasori-kun, over here!" she said, giggling as he approached them. They all greeted each other, moving their things over the able for him, when Diedara appeared in front of them.

"What did I tell you, Hikaru? Only four to a table, yeah," Diedara said, turning his attention back to Sasori. "Sorry, but you'll have to sit somewhere else."

"Of course, Diedara-sensei," he said, giving a curt nod as he packed his things away, ignoring the pouting and sullen looks of Hikaru and her friends. They watched, with several others as he headed straight for the only table with available seats.

Sakura had long tuned out to the noises in the class, focused on her work to even notice that Sasori had already settled him across from her, he too starting his sketches. But every so often, he would look up and watch Sakura, as if he were waiting for her to say something to him.

Sasori broke the silence. "Aren't you going to ask?"

Sakura didn't bother to look up from her drawing. "Ask you what? Why you're sitting here?" she peered up at Sasori, "it doesn't take a halfwit to figure out that these are the only empty chairs in the class."

The corners of Sasori's lip quirked upwards. "You are Haruno Sakura, are you not?" he said, running a hand through his mussed, dark red hair.

"What is it to you?"

He shrugged. "Nothing, I just wanted to see if you were as terrifying as everyone makes you out to be."

"Well actually, it's my bubbly personality that turns them off," Sakura said, her eyes returned back to her drawings.

"I'm sure it is."

They returned to their work, only now Sakura's interest was piqued and she stole glances at him. For someone who had the social graces like a rock, she could see how he was cute enough to attract attention already.

_Damn it Sakura, _she thought, gritting her teeth,_ now is not the time to be checking people out!_

She continued with her drawing. Or well, tried to, if she hadn't felt his eyes staring at her book.

"Do you mind?" she said, splaying her torso over her book. "I don't like people watching me when I work."

"My apologies, I couldn't help myself," he said, returning back to his work.

"Whatever," Sakura said, exposing her drawings once again. "They're pretty shitty anyway."

"Well drawn shit, it would seem," he said, puzzled when Sakura laughed at him before it dawned on him. "Ah, I see that did not come out right."

"You don't say," she said, giggling before she abruptly stopped. What was she doing? So much for keeping everyone at arm's length, it had not even been two days and she was already giggling and socializing with someone. A boy, nonetheless!

Thankfully, Sakura was saved by an approaching Hikaru, who quickly fixed her fringe before settling her gaze on Sasori.

"Hey, Tomoji said she wanted some pointers for her anatomy, and I said you were a big expert on that, so do you mind helping her out for a bit?"

Sasori nodded. "Of course, if that is alright with you, Haruno-san," he said, turning his attention towards Sakura.

Hikaru stiffened, fiddling with her plait and blushing when she quickly remembered that Sakura was also present.

"I-I'm sorry about that. I didn't realize that you and Sasori-kun were-"

"It's alright," Sakura cut in, giving her a brief smile. "Take him."

"Eh? Well, thank you Sakura!" She swooped in and linked her arm with Sasori, who didn't protest to letting her drag him halfway across the room.

Sakura watched as Sasori returned their compliments and answered them with the same odd but formal manner as he did with her. Realizing what she was doing, she quickly looked away; not wanting to let her class see the smile that she struggled to hide for the rest of the class.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **

I cannot believe it has taken me this long to update the chapter. Apparently, even if I have previous drafts/versions of this story and all the general plot all figured out for this story - physically writing out scenes for it is an entirely different thing.

Feel free to leave feedback/constructive criticism and all that jazz - and hopefully you guys enjoy this chapter!


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